Voice talent and content creator Inka Magnaye has explained why she has not been as vocal about alleged anomalous flood control projects, amid accusations that her silence was connected to her boyfriend.
In a video, the internet personality addressed claims that she had chosen not to speak out about corruption allegations hounding the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) because her partner, Mat Crespo, works there as a civil engineer and supposedly “benefits” from project “funds.”
Speculation began after some Filipinos noticed her absence from the wave of personalities, including actors, who have spoken on the flood control issue. She also limited the comments on her social media account.
A Reddit user fueled the discussion by assuming Inka’s silence was due to her boyfriend’s employment at DPWH.
“Someone on Reddit messaged me saying Inka’s partner is from DPWH Iloilo and got promoted quickly (because apparently, they’re the child of a former district engineer). Is that why she’s been quiet lately about the issue? Maybe someone from Iloilo here has some reliable tea to confirm?” a post read.
Spill the tea: Taga DPWH Iloilo DAW diumano jowa ni Inka? 👀
byu/AerieFit3177 inChikaPH
Another Redditor claimed Inka might be “benefitting” from government funds through her boyfriend’s work at the agency.
Explaining that she is out of town for a taping, the voice talent denied the allegations, saying that she chooses to be “mostly vocal” about issues she has “personal experience in.”
Inka is known for using her social media platforms — Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok — to voice her opinions on various matters.
“I’ve not been quiet. I’ve been posting on Threads about it, I’ve posted on TikTok about it,” she said in a video on Saturday, September 20.
“I just haven’t been as loud about it because I’m mostly vocal about things that I have personal experience in, like, colorism, animal welfare, empowering women through self-love, breaking the stigma around mental health, and things like that,” Inka added.
“As a personal rule, I do my best to not speak too loudly about things that I don’t really know much about, and when the flood control issue exploded, the last thing I wanted to do was misspeak about Mat’s place of work and cause him to lose his livelihood,” she said.
“So instead, what I do is I repost and reshare good content with important information from credible sources, videos from creators who do political content, posts from credible news sources, and then from that, I learn and then I share my opinion when I can, which I have naman,” the voice talent continued.
Inka also defended her boyfriend, stressing that not everyone who works in government is “corrupt.”
“For the record, yes, Mat works at DPWH, but remember that not everyone who works at a government agency is corrupt. Don’t discount that there are good people out there who truly want to serve the public, just like his dad, who passed away even before Mat started working there,” she said.
The content creator shared that Mat “worked really, really hard” for what he has, saying that he got into college in a “full athletic scholarship” and “takes up multiple seminars just to beef up his knowledge and his experience.”
“As much as I’m really proud of him, I just never really mentioned anything about his work because he’s a private person, and I respect that,” Inka said.
“Also, I became even more protective of him because I know that there are so many people out there who won’t even care that he’s good at his job and that he works clean,” she added.
Inka condemned what she called a “witch hunt,” saying people have been doxxing her boyfriend.
“I don’t have a collection of very expensive bags. We don’t take constant extravagant trips outside of the country. And yet, people are already bringing us at the stake,” Inka said.
“I’ve been harassed all week with allegations and people have been posting details of Matt’s work online for everyone to see just because they think he’s corrupt. That’s doxxing. People have been accusing me of stuff because they said I’ve been quiet,” she added.
The content creator then appealed to the public to direct their anger toward those actually involved in corruption, adding that she and her boyfriend are “legitimate taxpayers and are obviously against corruption of any kind.”
“And we want those who mishandled the funds to be held accountable,” Inka said.
Inka said she would not be able to participate in the rally against corruption on Sunday, September 21, as she was out for work at that time. She, however, said she will be there “in spirit.”
“Again, I’m away for work, so I’ll just be there in spirit. Please be safe. Please watch out for each other,” she told participants of the September 21 protests.
Congress is currently investigating alleged corruption in the country’s flood control projects, with some contractors and government officials under scrutiny for their lavish lifestyles.
Thousands took to the streets on Sunday, coinciding with the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law, as interfaith groups, youth, workers, and families braved the rains and filled various parts of the Philippines to denounce government corruption and the multibillion-peso flood-control scandal.
